Reducing latency in map interfaces

ABSTRACT

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for reducing latency in transmitting and presenting map user interfaces. In one aspect, a method includes receiving, from a client device, a request for presentation of an interactive map user interface that depicts (i) a region and (ii) data related to an account for sub-regions of the region. One or more servers render a map of the region. The server(s) generate an image file representing an image of the rendered map. A different visual characteristic is assigned to each different sub-region. The server(s) configure a user interface of the client device to present (i) the image with each of the different sub-regions being presented according to the different visual characteristics and (ii) account data related to a sub-region when the client device detects a user interaction with the sub-region.

BACKGROUND

The Internet facilitates the exchange of information and transactionsbetween users across the globe. This exchange of information enablesdata providers to provide data to a variety of users. An example ofinformation provided over the Internet is an interactive map thatenables users to search for and view maps of particular areas. As thesemap user interfaces can include a lot of information and may begenerated using many different scripts, canvases, and graphics,rendering the maps can be resource intensive and take some time torender at client devices.

SUMMARY

This specification describes technologies relating to reducing latencyin transmitting and presenting map user interfaces.

In general, one innovative aspect of the subject matter described inthis specification can be embodied in methods that include the actionsof receiving, from a client device, a request for presentation of aninteractive map user interface that depicts (i) a particular geographicregion and (ii) data related to an online account for multiple differentsub-regions of the particular region; rendering, by one or more serversand using a mapping service, a map of the particular region, therendering comprising generating a canvas of the particular region andloading programming elements and graphic elements that are used togenerate the map; generating, by the one or more servers and based onthe rendered map, an image file representing an image of the renderedmap, wherein the image file is renderable using fewer computingresources than required to generate the canvas; detecting one or moresub-regions within the image based at least on visual borders depictedby the image; assigning a different visual characteristic to eachdifferent sub-region within the image; generating an electronic indexthat maps each location within the image to a corresponding sub-regionthat includes the location; and configuring, by the one or more servers,a user interface of the client device to present (i) the image with eachof the different sub-regions being presented according to the differentvisual characteristic corresponding to the different sub-region and (ii)account data related to at least one given sub-region when the clientdevice detects a user interaction with the given sub-region of theimage. Other embodiments of this aspect include corresponding systems,apparatus, and computer programs, configured to perform the actions ofthe methods, encoded on computer storage devices.

These and other embodiments can each optionally include one or more ofthe following features. In some aspects, the visual characteristic foreach sub-region includes a particular color assigned to the sub-regionand that is presented within the sub-region in the image.

Some aspects can include reducing a data size of the image file usingcompression techniques that include: assigning, to each sub-region ofthe image, a particular red, green, blue (RGB) color in which thesub-region of the image is presented and storing, in the image file andfor each particular sub-region, the RGB color for the sub-region anddata specifying locations of the particular sub-region within the image.

Some aspects can include receiving, at the one or more servers and fromthe client device, data specifying a selection of a particular locationwithin the image. An updated image file can be generated that depicts amap of the particular sub-region that corresponds to the selectedlocation in response to the selection. This generating can includerendering a map of the particular sub-region using the mapping serviceand generating an image of the rendered map. An image file representingthe updated image can be provided to the client device. Some aspects caninclude receiving, from the client device, data specifying a zoom levelfor the image at the time of the selection. A level of granularity forthe selection can be determined based on the zoom level. The particularsub-region that corresponds to the selected location can be determinedbased on the level of granularity for the selection.

In some aspects, the image file includes a Portable Network Graphics(PNG) file format. Some aspects can include providing, by the one ormore servers and to the client device, one or more additional imagefiles that each represents a map of at least one of the sub-regions inresponse to the request and prior to receiving a request for the one ormore additional image files.

Particular embodiments of the subject matter described in thisspecification can be implemented so as to realize one or more of thefollowing advantages. The latency in providing and presenting aninteractive map user interface at a client device can be reduced byproviding a compressed image file with an index to data that can bepresented in response to user interactions, rather than loading scripts,canvases, graphics, Document Object Model (DOM) elements and other dataonto the client device. For example, the amount of networking resourcesrequired to provide an image file (e.g., a compressed image file) overthe Internet may be substantially less than the amount of networkingresources required to provide scripts, canvases, and DOM elements usedto generate the map at the client device.

Similarly, the demand placed upon computing resources of the clientdevice can be reduced using the compressed image file as the clientdevice's processor does not have to load the scripts or DOM elements orgenerate the canvases. In addition, the amount of memory (e.g., RAM) ofthe client device used to present the interactive map user interface canbe reduced using the image file, which frees up memory for otherapplications and increases the speed at which data is processed by theclient device. By assigning a particular color to each entire sub-regionof a map image, the size of the image file that stores the image can bereduced (e.g., compressed), resulting in faster transmission timesbetween devices and less consumed network bandwidth used to transmit theimage file.

The details of one or more embodiments of the subject matter describedin this specification are set forth in the accompanying drawings and thedescription below. Other features, aspects, and advantages of thesubject matter will become apparent from the description, the drawings,and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an environment in which a data management system providesinteractive map user interfaces.

FIG. 2 is a screenshot of an example interactive map user interface.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of an example process for providing aninteractive map user interface.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an example process for compressing an imagefile.

Like reference numbers and designations in the various drawings indicatelike elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A system can reduce the latency in providing and presenting interactivemap user interfaces. For example, the system can generate an image of amap generated by a mapping service. The image can depict a map of aparticular region and its sub-regions. The system can also generate anelectronic index that maps locations within the image (e.g., x-ycoordinates of the image) to the sub-regions of the image and providethe electronic index and the image to a client device. The electronicindex can also map the sub-regions to data for the sub-regions. In thisway, when a user interacts with the image of the map at a location thatcorresponds to a particular sub-region, e.g., by hovering over orselecting a location that corresponds to the sub-region, data for thesub-region can be presented to the user in an interactive way.

Providing the image to the client device, e.g., over the Internet, canrequire less computing and networking resources than generating a map atthe client device using a mapping service. This also increases the speedat which map user interfaces are presented to the user. The amount ofcomputing and networking resources can be further reduced, and the speedfurther increased, by compressing the image. In some implementations,the image can be compressed by assigning a particular color to eachsub-region of the image. For example, an entire sub-region may bedepicted in the particular color assigned to the sub-region rather thandepicting different colors for roads, terrain, etc. In this way, thesize of the image file can be reduced, allowing for quicker transferover a network and less network bandwidth to transfer the image over thenetwork. For example, because all of the area of a given sub-region isthe same color, only a single color code (e.g., RGB value) needs to besent for the entire area of the image representing the sub-region ratherthan sending different color codes for multiple different portions ofthe sub-region. In addition, the client device can present thecompressed image quicker using compressed image rendering technologies,e.g., implemented by graphics processing units (GPUs).

To further reduce latency in presenting interactive user interfaces,additional images of maps may be provided prior to the maps beingrequested. The additional map images can be stored at the client device,e.g., in a cache, to enable quicker presentation of the maps if the userrequests the maps. For example, the system may provide more detailedmaps of each sub-region depicted in the image generated in response tothe request in case the user selects one of the sub-regions for a moredetailed view.

FIG. 1 is an example environment 100 in which a data management system110 provides interactive map user interfaces. For example, the datamanagement system 110 may provide interactive map user interfaces toclient devices, e.g. the client device 150, in response to requestsreceived from the client devices. The data management system 110 cansend the interactive map user interfaces over a data communicationnetwork 130, e.g., a local area network (LAN), a wide area network(WAN), a mobile communication network, the Internet, or a combinationthereof. The network 130 can include servers, hubs, routers, switches,interface devices, transmission media, and other networking componentsthat enable devices to send and receive data to other devices.

A client device 150 is an electronic device that is capable ofrequesting and receiving electronic resources and other data over anetwork 130. Example client devices 150 include personal computers,mobile communication devices (e.g., smartphones, tablet computingdevices, and/or smart watches), and other devices that can send andreceive data over the network 130. A client device 150 typicallyincludes a user application, such as a web browser, to facilitate thesending and receiving of data over the network 130. The web browser canenable a user to interact with text, images, videos, music, and otherinformation typically located on a web page at a website.

A client device 150 can include other applications, e.g., nativeapplications developed for a particular type of device or for aparticular platform. For example, the client device 150 includes a mapviewer 155 that presents interactive map user interfaces 157 to a userof the client device 150. The map viewer 150 may be implemented in a webbrowser, a native application, or another type of application program.

The interactive map user interface 157 presents a map of a particularregion. For example, the interactive map user interface 157 can presenta map of a particular region specified by a request received from theclient device 150. The interactive map user interface 157 can alsopresent data related to the particular region and/or sub-regions of theregion included in the map. As described below, the presented data caninclude account data related to an online account that the user of theclient device 150 is authorized to access. The data can be presented inresponse to user interactions with the map. For example, if a user ofthe client device 150 hovers a cursor or other pointer over a locationthat corresponds to a particular sub-region, the data for the sub-regionmay be presented to the user. An example interactive map user interfaceis illustrated in FIG. 2 and described in more detail below.

The data management system 110 can manage data for users and/ororganizations and provide the data for presentation to the users, e.g.,in user interfaces generated by the data management system 110. Forexample, the data management system 110 can manage online account datafor multiple different accounts of multiple different account holders.In a particular example, the data management system 110 can manageadvertising account data for multiple different organizations. Thesystems and techniques described below can also be applied to variousother types of data.

The account data managed by the account management system 110 caninclude any data related to an account, such as performance data forcontent items (e.g., number of impressions, click through rates,conversion rates, etc.), budget information for account holders, and/orcontent item distribution criteria. The account data for each accountholder is stored in an account data storage device 115, which mayinclude multiple data storage devices located in one or more datacenters. The account data for each account holder may be storedseparately and securely such that account data for one account holder isnot provided to users of a different account holder.

At least a portion of the account data can be stored with dataidentifying a corresponding geographic location for the data. Forexample, data for an advertising campaign may include data specifying anumber of impressions of a content item, a number of selections of thecontent item, a number of conversions resulting from presentations ofthe content item, and/or other appropriate campaign data. The data foreach event (e.g., impression, selection, conversion, etc.) can include adesignation of the geographic location at which the event occurred. Forexample, if the content item was presented on a client device located inSeattle, the data for the impression can indicate that the impressionoccurred in Seattle. In this way, the data can be filtered based onlocation and metrics associated with each location can be determined.

The data management system 110 includes one or more front-end servers111, a data selector 113, and a map user interface generator 120. Thedata selector 113 and the map user interface generator 120 can also beimplemented in one or more servers. For example, the front-end server(s)111, the data selector 113, and the map user interface generator 120 maybe implemented in one or more servers located in one or more locations(e.g., data centers). The front-end server(s) 111, data selector 113,and user interface generator 120 can communicate data between eachother, for example, over a network.

The front-end server(s) 111 receive requests for data from clientdevices and provides the requested data to the client devices. Thefront-end server(s) 111 can act as an interface between client devicesand the data selector 113 and the map user interface generator 120. Forexample, the front-end server(s) 111 can forward requests for data tothe data selector 113. In turn, the data selector 113 can obtain theappropriate data from the account data storage device 115 and providethe data to the front-end server(s) 111. The front-end server(s) 111 canthen provide the data to the client device that submitted the request.

The front-end server(s) 111 can also determine whether a receivedrequest is requesting a map user interface. For example, the request mayspecify that it is requesting a map user interface that depicts accountdata for a particular region. In another example, the user of a clientdevice may interact with a map user interface in a manner that triggersa request for another map user interface. For example, the user may zoomin or out of a map user interface to view a different region or a moredetailed view of a sub-region. In this example, the request may specifythe region to include in a map user interface.

If the front-end server(s) 111 determines that a request is requesting amap user interface, the front-end server(s) 111 can request a map userinterface from the map user interface generator 120. The map userinterface generator 120 can generate an interactive map user interfacefor the requested region and provide the interactive map user interfaceto the front-end server(s) 111. In turn, the front-end server(s) 111provide the interactive map user interface to the client device.

In some implementations, the data selector 113 can determine whether toprovide a map user interface to a client device 150. For example, thedata selector 113 may determine whether to provide a map user interfacebased on the data that is being provided to the client device 150. Thedata selector 113 may determine to provide a map user interface if thedata includes data specific to multiple different geographic locations.For example, the data may include, for each of the multiple differentgeographic locations, a conversion rate for a content item when thecontent item has been provided in the geographic location. In thisexample, the data selector 113 may determine to provide a map userinterface that presents the conversion rates at their appropriatelocations on the map.

The map user interface generator 120 generates interactive map userinterfaces that present data for geographic locations depicted in themap. For example, the map user interface generator 120 may generate aninteractive map user interface that depicts a map of a particular regionspecified by a request received from a client device. The interactivemap user interfaces generated by the map user interface generator 120can include an image of a more complex map and an index of data thatcorresponds to geographic locations depicted by the image. In this way,the latency in rendering the interactive map user interface at theclient device 150 can be reduced as compared to generating the map atthe client device 150 using code (e.g., scripts), DOM elements, andother data obtained from a mapping service. In addition, the demand onthe computing resources of the client device 150 used to render theinteractive map user interface can be reduced, thereby improving theperformance of the client device 150.

The map user interface generator 120 includes one or more map renderingservers 121. The map rendering server(s) 121 can use a mapping service122 and a map client 123 to render maps of geographic regions. Themapping service 122 can include a web mapping service that provides mapsor portions of maps to map clients 123 in response to requests for maps.For example, the mapping service 122 may select map tiles, overlays, andother map data to provide to the map client 123 based on a request for amap of a particular region. The mapping service 122 can select the maptiles, overlays, and other map data from a map data storage device 124.

The map client 123 can request maps from the mapping service 122,organize map data received from the mapping service, and render the map.In some implementations, the map client 123 uses multiple scripts togenerate a map canvas, organize map tiles on the canvas, arrangeoverlays over the map tiles, locate other map data on the map, andrender the map, e.g., at a display or in memory. To render the map, themap client 123 may also load multiple DOM elements that are used by thescripts to render maps.

The map client 123 can interact with the mapping service 122 to rendermaps requested by client devices, e.g., the client device 150. Byrendering the map at the map rendering server(s) 121 rather than at theclient device 150, the map can be rendered more quickly as the maprendering server(s) have more powerful and a greater number of computingresources with which to render the map. In addition, the map client 123can interact with the mapping service 122 without submitting requestsover the Internet, further reducing the amount of time required torender a map.

The map user interface generator 120 also includes a map image filegenerator 125, an index generator 128, and a file compressor 129. Themap image file generator 125 can generate an image of the map renderedby the map client 123 and generate an image file that represents theimage. For example, the map image file generator 125 may capture ascreenshot of the rendered map and generate an image file thatrepresents the captured image. The image file may be a Portable NetworkGraphics (PNG) file, a Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) file, a JointPhotographic Experts Group (JPEG) file, or another appropriate type ofimage file.

The map image file generator 125 includes a border detector 126 and avisual characteristic selector 127. The border detector 126 can detectvisual borders within the image of the map generated by the map imagefile generator 125. For example, the image may depict a particularregion that includes sub-regions defined by borders. In a particularexample, the region may be the United States and the sub-regions may bethe individual states. The border detector 126 can use border detectingtechniques, e.g., edge detection, to detect the borders between thesub-regions.

In some implementations, the border detector 126 can also identify thesub-regions depicted by the image based on the borders and/or on dataspecifying the region depicted by the image. For example, knowing theregion and the sub-regions within the image, the border detector 126 candetermine which bordered areas of the image correspond to eachsub-region. The border detector 126 can determine the sub-regions bycomparing shapes defined by the borders in the image and known shapesfor each sub-region.

The visual characteristic selector 127 can select a visualcharacteristic to associate with each sub-region depicted in the imageof the map. For example, the visual characteristic may be a color (e.g.,based on the RGB color model or the Red, Green, Blue, Alpha (RGBA colormodel)), a shading, a hatching, a color intensity, or some otherappropriate visual characteristic. In some implementations, the visualcharacteristic selector 127 selects the visual characteristic for eachsub-region based on data for each sub-region. For example, theinteractive map user interface may be generated to present theperformance of content items when the content items are presented atclient devices located in the sub-regions. In this example, the visualcharacteristic selector 127 may select the visual characteristic foreach sub-region based on the performance measure for each sub-region. Asub-region in which the content item has a better performance may bepresented in a brighter color than a sub-region in which the contentitem has poorer performance.

In another example, each sub-region may be depicted in the same color,while the shade or brightness of the color varies based on the data forthe sub-region. For example, each sub-region may be depicted in thecolor blue. The visual characteristic selector 127 may select abrightness or shade of blue for each sub-region based on the data foreach sub-region. In yet another example, the visual characteristic ofeach sub-region may be selected randomly or pseudo-randomly todifferentiate the different sub-regions.

The index generator 128 can generate an electronic index that mapslocations within the image of the map to sub-regions depicted in theimage. For example, the electronic index may map each x-y coordinate ofthe image to its corresponding sub-region. The electronic index may alsomap data for each sub-region to the sub-regions depicted by the image ofthe map. For example, the index generator 128 can obtain the data forthe sub-regions from the data selector 113. In some implementations, theelectronic index maps the data for a sub-region to a unique visualcharacteristic (e.g., unique RGB or RGBA value) assigned to thesub-region. In this way, when a user interacts with the image at thesub-region, e.g., at one of the x-y coordinates for the sub-region orthe unique visual characteristic, the data for the sub-region can beobtained from the index and presented to the user.

The file compressor 129 can compress the image file that represents theimage of the map for faster transfer over the network 130 and fasterrendering to a user of the client device 150. In some implementations,the file compressor 129 compresses the image file using the uniquevisual characteristic selected for each sub-region depicted in theimage. For example, the unique visual characteristic for each sub-regionmay be a unique color assigned to each sub-region. In the example, thefile compressor 129 can compress the image file by assigning to theimage area for each particular sub-region the unique color of thatsub-region. In this way the image file only has to store, for eachsub-region, the x-y coordinates that correspond to the sub-region andthe RGB color value for the sub-region. An application of the clientdevice 150 (e.g., a web browser) can use the x-y coordinates for eachsub-region and the unique RGB color for each sub-region to render theimage of the map at the client device 150.

The file compressor 129 provides the compressed image file and theelectronic index generated by the index generator 128 to the front-endserver(s) 111. In turn, the front-end server(s) provide the image fileand the index to the client device 150. The map viewer 155 of the clientdevice 150 can then render the image of the map represented by the imagefile in an interactive map user interface.

The front-end server(s) 111 can also provide code, routines, or scriptsto the client device 150 that causes the client device 150 to performcertain operations in response to certain user interactions with theimage of the map. For example, a script may cause the client device 150to access the electronic index to obtain and present data related to aparticular sub-region in response to the user hovering a pointer (e.g.,mouse cursor) over a location of the image that corresponds to theparticular sub-region. For example, if a user hovers a pointer over aparticular sub-region, the client device 150 can obtain the data for theparticular sub-region from the electronic index and present the data tothe user of the client device 150. The client device 150 can identifythe sub-region for which to obtain data based on a location of the userinteraction with respect to the image of the map. For example, theclient device 150 can detect the x-y coordinates of the pointer during ahover event (e.g., the pointer remaining in the same position for atleast a threshold amount of time) and obtain data from the electronicindex that corresponds to the detected x-y coordinates. In anotherexample, the client device 150 can determine the color of the image atthe location of the pointer during a hover event and obtain data fromthe electronic index that corresponds to the color.

In some implementations, the map user interface generator 120 generatestwo images of the map. The first image may be an image of the maprendered by the map rendering server(s). For example, the first imagemay depict the rendered map with any roads, waterbodies, colors fortypes of terrain, etc. The second image may be an image that hasparticular RGB colors for particular sub-regions. In this example, thesecond image may be an overlay over the first image, but not visible tothe user of the client device 150. Instead, the second image may be usedto map the location of user interactions to the sub-regions depicted inthe image, as described above. In this way, the map presented to theuser can look the same as maps typically provided by the mapping service122, while still realizing the improvements in rendering speed andnetwork bandwidth consumption.

In some implementations, the map user interface generator 120 generatesadditional images of maps and indexes and provides each of theadditional images and indexes to the client device 150 in response to arequest for an interactive map user interface. For example, the requestmay specify a particular region that includes multiple sub-regions. Inthis example, the map user interface generator 120 may generate an imageof a map for each sub-region and an electronic index for eachsub-region. The image of a particular sub-region may depict sub-regionsof the particular sub-region. Similarly, the electronic index for aparticular sub-region may include data for each sub-region of theparticular sub-region.

The map user interface generator 120 can transmit the additional imagesand electronic indexes to the client device 150 with the original imagegenerated in response to the request or after the original image hasbeen transmitted to the client device 150. The client device 150 canstore the additional images and electronic indexes in a cache of theclient device 150. The client device 150 can present the additionalimages in response to user interaction with the interactive map userinterface that includes the original image (or another image). Forexample, the user may select a particular sub-region depicted by theoriginal image. In response, the client device 150 can obtain the imageof the selected sub-region from the cache and present the image withoutrequesting a new interactive map user interface from the data managementsystem 110. In this way, detailed maps of the sub-regions can berendered much more quickly and network traffic can be reduced.

FIG. 2 is a screenshot 200 of example interactive map user interface210. In this example, the interactive map user interface 210 ispresented in a web browser. In some implementations, the interactive mapuser interface 210 is presented by another application program, e.g., anative application.

The example interactive map user interface 210 includes an image 220 ofa map of a particular region. In this example, the image 220 of the mapdepicts several southeastern states. Each state is a sub-region of thesoutheast region. Although not shown in FIG. 2, each state can include avisual characteristic specific to that state. For example, the visualcharacteristic may be a color (e.g., based on the RGB color model), ashading, a hatching, a color intensity, or some other appropriate visualcharacteristic that differentiates the different states. In a particularexample, the state of Georgia may be green, while the state of Alabamamay be blue. In another example, each state may be the same base color.However, each state may be a different intensity, shade, or brightnessof that color. For example, each state may be a different shade of blue.

The visual characteristic for each state may be based on data thatcorresponds to each state. For example, the interactive map userinterface 210 may present, for each state, the number of conversionsresulting from the presentation of a particular content item in thatstate. In this example, the area of each state may be presented in thesame color with the shade of the color being based on the number ofconversions for each state. For example, the state with the mostconversions may be the darkest, while the state with the fewestconversions may be the lightest.

The data for each state can be stored in an electronic index that mapsthe data and visual characteristic to each state. When the userinteracts with a state, e.g., by hovering a cursor over the state orselecting the state, the data for that state can be presented. Forexample, the state of Georgia is being hovered over by a cursor 230. Inresponse, the number of conversions for a content item that occurred asa result of the content item being presented on a device located inGeorgia is being presented in an overlay 240. The overlay 240 ispresented over the image 220. In particular, the overlay 240 ispresented over the state of Georgia in the image 220.

In some implementations, a first type of user interaction may causepresentation of data over the image 220 and a second type of userinteraction may cause a different map to be presented in the interactivemap user interface 210. For example, a hover over a state may cause datafor the state to be presented in an overlay over the state. In addition,a selection of the state, e.g., by clicking on the state, may cause adetailed map of the state to be presented. For example, if the state ofGeorgia is selected, a map of Georgia that depicts sub-regions ofGeorgia may be presented. The sub-regions of the state view may becounties, cities, telephone area codes, zip codes, or other ways ofsegmenting a larger region.

In some implementations, the level of granularity of a selection may bebased on a zoom level of the interactive map user interface as the timethe state was selected. For example, if the zoom level is greater than athreshold, e.g., greater than 100%, the selection may be deemed to be ofa county, city, postal code, or area code within the state thatcorresponds to the location in the image where the selection occurred.In this example, the interactive map user interface 210 may be updatedto present an image of a map of the selected county, city, postal code,or area code. If the zoom level is less than a threshold, e.g., lessthan 100%, the selection may be deemed to be of the entire state. Inthis example, the interactive map user interface 210 may be updated topresent an image of a map of the selected state.

In some implementations, a selection of a state (or another type of userinteraction), causes a user interface to be presented that enables auser to input or modify data. For example, selection of a state maycause an overlay to be presented that enables a user to modify or inputa bid for a content item, select keywords for which the content item isdistributed, or input another appropriate parameter. The data input tothe overlay may be applied to the selected state. For example, if theuser modifies a bid after selecting Georgia, the bid may be used indetermining whether to present the content item on client deviceslocated in Georgia.

In some implementations, selection of a state (or other sub-region)while the state is being presented for a particular campaign results ina toggle between active and inactive status for the campaign. Forexample, if the state is inactive for the campaign (e.g., content itemsfor the campaign are not eligible to be provided to client deviceslocated in the state), a selection of the state may toggle the status ofthe state to the active status for the campaign (e.g., contents itemsare eligible to be provided to client devices located in the state). Inthis example, the client device would provide, in response to theselection and to the data management system 110, data specifying thatthe state has been toggled for the campaign. In response, the datamanagement system 110 may update distribution criteria for the campaignbased on the change in status for the state.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of an example process 300 for providing aninteractive map user interface. Operations of the process 300 can beimplemented, for example, by one or more data processing apparatus, suchas the data management system 110 of FIG. 1. The process 300 can also beimplemented by instructions stored on computer storage medium, whereexecution of the instructions by a data processing apparatus cause thedata processing apparatus to perform the operations of the process 300.

A request for presentation of an interactive map user interface isreceived (302). For example, a client device may submit a request for aninteractive map user interface that depicts a particular geographicregion. The request may also specify data related to the particulargeographic region that a user of the client device would like to view.For example, the request may specify the geographic location of SouthAmerica and selection data for a particular content item when thecontent item is presented at devices located in South America.

A map of the particular region is rendered using a mapping service(304). For example, as described above, a map client can interact with amapping service to generate a map canvas, organize map tiles on thecanvas, locate overlays over the map tiles, locate other map data on themap, and render the map, e.g., at a display or in memory. The renderingcan include generating a canvas of the particular region and loadingprogramming elements (e.g., scripts) and graphic elements (e.g., maptiles, overlays, etc.) that are used to generate the map.

An image file that represents an image of the rendered map is generated(306). For example, an image of the rendered map may be captured bytaking a screenshot of a display that is presenting the rendered map. Animage file that represents the captured image can then be generated. Theimage file may be a PNG, GIF, JPEG, or other appropriate image fileformat.

One or more sub-regions are detected within the image (308). Forexample, borders within the image may be detected using a borderdetection technique. The shapes between borders can then be compared tothe shapes of known sub-regions of the particular geographic region toidentify the sub-regions.

A different visual characteristic is assigned to each sub-region (310).For example, a different color may be assigned to each sub-region. Thecolors may be based on the RGB model or another appropriatecomputer-readable color model. In another example, the visualcharacteristics may be different shadings, hatchings, color intensities,or some other appropriate visual characteristic.

An electronic index is generated (312). The electronic index can mapeach location within the image to a corresponding sub-region thatincludes the location. The electronic index can also map each sub-regionto data related to the sub-region. For example, the interactive map userinterface may be requested to present particular data related to thesub-regions. The particular data for each sub-region can be included inthe electronic index.

In some implementations, the electronic index maps x-y coordinates ofeach location to its corresponding sub-region. In some implementations,the electronic index maps the visual characteristics to the sub-regions.For example, the electronic index may map each sub-region to its uniqueRGB color.

A user interface of the client device is configured to present the image(314). For example, data that causes presentation of the image may beprovided to the client device. This data can include the image filerepresenting the image, the electronic index, and code (e.g., routinesor scripts) that cause the client device to present the image. This datamay cause the image to be presented with each of the differentsub-regions being presented according to the different visualcharacteristic that corresponds to the different sub-region. Forexample, each sub-region may be presented in its RGB color. In someimplementations, the image file that represents the image may becompressed prior to transmitting the image file to the client device. Anexample process for compressing an image file is illustrated in FIG. 4and described below.

The client device can access the electronic index in response to userinteractions with the image. For example, if the user hovers a pointerover the location of a particular sub-region, the client device candetect the location (e.g., x-y coordinates) of the hover within theimage. The client device can then access the electronic index todetermine the sub-region being hovered and retrieve data for thesub-region from the electronic index. The client device can then presentthe retrieved data in the user interface, e.g., over the sub-region thatreceived the user interaction.

The data provided to the client device can cause the client device toperform other operations in response to certain user interactions. Forexample, the client device may toggle the active/inactive status of acampaign for a particular sub-region in response to a selection of theimage at the particular sub-region. In this example, a script may causethe client device to transmit to a content distribution system dataspecifying a toggle of the active/inactive status of the particularsub-region.

In another example, a selection of a particular sub-region may cause theclient device to request a map of the particular sub-region. In thisexample, a script may cause the client device to access its cache todetermine whether an image file representing an image of the particularsub-region is stored in the cache. If so, the client device can obtainthe image file from the cache and present the image of the particularsub-region in the user interface. If not, the script can cause theclient device to request an image of the map of the particularsub-region.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of an example process 400 for compressing animage. Operations of the process 400 can be implemented, for example, byone or more data processing apparatus, such as the file compressor 129of FIG. 1. The process 400 can also be implemented by instructionsstored on computer storage medium, where execution of the instructionsby a data processing apparatus cause the data processing apparatus toperform the operations of the process 400.

An image file is received (402). The image file may represent an imageof a particular region and may depict sub-regions of the particularregion. The image file may be a PNG, GIF, JPEG, or other appropriateimage file format.

Data specifying locations within the image for each of multipledifferent sub-regions are received (404). For example, the data mayspecify, for each sub-region, the x-y coordinates (or ranges of x-ycoordinates) within the image that correspond to each sub-region.

A different color is identified for each sub-region (406). For example,each sub-region may be assigned a different color based on the RGB colormodel.

The image file is compressed (408). The image file may be compressedbased on the locations of each sub-region and the color assigned to eachsub-region. For example, the image file may store, for each sub-region,the color assigned to the sub-region and its corresponding locations.Compressing an image in this way can result in a much lower cost perpixel (e.g., in terms of data size of the image per display pixel) whenthe image includes solid colored sub-regions as each sub-region can berepresented in the image file using less data than if the sub-regionswere multi-colored.

By compressing the image file in this way, the image file can be morequickly transmitted over a network and using less bandwidth than anon-compressed image file. In addition, a GPU of the client device canmore quickly present the compressed image file than it could present anon-compressed image file that includes detailed data of each locationwithin the image.

Embodiments of the subject matter and the operations described in thisspecification can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or incomputer software, firmware, or hardware, including the structuresdisclosed in this specification and their structural equivalents, or incombinations of one or more of them. Embodiments of the subject matterdescribed in this specification can be implemented as one or morecomputer programs, i.e., one or more modules of computer programinstructions, encoded on computer storage medium for execution by, or tocontrol the operation of, data processing apparatus. Alternatively or inaddition, the program instructions can be encoded on anartificially-generated propagated signal, e.g., a machine-generatedelectrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal, that is generated toencode information for transmission to suitable receiver apparatus forexecution by a data processing apparatus. A computer storage medium canbe, or be included in, a computer-readable storage device, acomputer-readable storage substrate, a random or serial access memoryarray or device, or a combination of one or more of them. Moreover,while a computer storage medium is not a propagated signal, a computerstorage medium can be a source or destination of computer programinstructions encoded in an artificially-generated propagated signal. Thecomputer storage medium can also be, or be included in, one or moreseparate physical components or media (e.g., multiple CDs, disks, orother storage devices).

The operations described in this specification can be implemented asoperations performed by a data processing apparatus on data stored onone or more computer-readable storage devices or received from othersources.

The term “data processing apparatus” encompasses all kinds of apparatus,devices, and machines for processing data, including by way of example aprogrammable processor, a computer, a system on a chip, or multipleones, or combinations, of the foregoing. The apparatus can includespecial purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gatearray) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Theapparatus can also include, in addition to hardware, code that createsan execution environment for the computer program in question, e.g.,code that constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a databasemanagement system, an operating system, a cross-platform runtimeenvironment, a virtual machine, or a combination of one or more of them.The apparatus and execution environment can realize various differentcomputing model infrastructures, such as web services, distributedcomputing and grid computing infrastructures.

A computer program (also known as a program, software, softwareapplication, script, or code) can be written in any form of programminglanguage, including compiled or interpreted languages, declarative orprocedural languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as astand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, object, orother unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computerprogram may, but need not, correspond to a file in a file system. Aprogram can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programsor data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in a markup languagedocument), in a single file dedicated to the program in question, or inmultiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store one or more modules,sub-programs, or portions of code). A computer program can be deployedto be executed on one computer or on multiple computers that are locatedat one site or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by acommunication network.

The processes and logic flows described in this specification can beperformed by one or more programmable processors executing one or morecomputer programs to perform actions by operating on input data andgenerating output. The processes and logic flows can also be performedby, and apparatus can also be implemented as, special purpose logiccircuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC(application-specific integrated circuit).

Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, byway of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, andany one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, aprocessor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory ora random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer area processor for performing actions in accordance with instructions andone or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally,a computer will also include, or be operatively coupled to receive datafrom or transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storage devices forstoring data, e.g., magnetic, magneto-optical disks, or optical disks.However, a computer need not have such devices. Moreover, a computer canbe embedded in another device, e.g., a mobile telephone, a personaldigital assistant (PDA), a mobile audio or video player, a game console,a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver, or a portable storage device(e.g., a universal serial bus (USB) flash drive), to name just a few.Devices suitable for storing computer program instructions and datainclude all forms of non-volatile memory, media and memory devices,including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM,EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal harddisks or removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROMdisks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, orincorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.

To provide for interaction with a user, embodiments of the subjectmatter described in this specification can be implemented on a computerhaving a display device, e.g., a CRT (cathode ray tube) or LCD (liquidcrystal display) monitor, for displaying information to the user and akeyboard and a pointing device, e.g., a mouse or a trackball, by whichthe user can provide input to the computer. Other kinds of devices canbe used to provide for interaction with a user as well; for example,feedback provided to the user can be any form of sensory feedback, e.g.,visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactile feedback; and input fromthe user can be received in any form, including acoustic, speech, ortactile input. In addition, a computer can interact with a user bysending documents to and receiving documents from a device that is usedby the user; for example, by sending web pages to a web browser on auser's client device in response to requests received from the webbrowser.

Embodiments of the subject matter described in this specification can beimplemented in a computing system that includes a back-end component,e.g., as a data server, or that includes a middleware component, e.g.,an application server, or that includes a front-end component, e.g., aclient computer having a graphical user interface or a Web browserthrough which a user can interact with an implementation of the subjectmatter described in this specification, or any combination of one ormore such back-end, middleware, or front-end components. The componentsof the system can be interconnected by any form or medium of digitaldata communication, e.g., a communication network. Examples ofcommunication networks include a local area network (“LAN”) and a widearea network (“WAN”), an inter-network (e.g., the Internet), andpeer-to-peer networks (e.g., ad hoc peer-to-peer networks).

The computing system can include clients and servers. A client andserver are generally remote from each other and typically interactthrough a communication network. The relationship of client and serverarises by virtue of computer programs running on the respectivecomputers and having a client-server relationship to each other. In someembodiments, a server transmits data (e.g., an HTML page) to a clientdevice (e.g., for purposes of displaying data to and receiving userinput from a user interacting with the client device). Data generated atthe client device (e.g., a result of the user interaction) can bereceived from the client device at the server.

While this specification contains many specific implementation details,these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of anyinventions or of what may be claimed, but rather as descriptions offeatures specific to particular embodiments of particular inventions.Certain features that are described in this specification in the contextof separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in asingle embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described inthe context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multipleembodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover,although features may be described above as acting in certaincombinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more featuresfrom a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from thecombination, and the claimed combination may be directed to asubcombination or variation of a subcombination.

Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particularorder, this should not be understood as requiring that such operationsbe performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, orthat all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirableresults. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processingmay be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various systemcomponents in the embodiments described above should not be understoodas requiring such separation in all embodiments, and it should beunderstood that the described program components and systems cangenerally be integrated together in a single software product orpackaged into multiple software products.

Thus, particular embodiments of the subject matter have been described.Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. In somecases, the actions recited in the claims can be performed in a differentorder and still achieve desirable results. In addition, the processesdepicted in the accompanying figures do not necessarily require theparticular order shown, or sequential order, to achieve desirableresults. In certain implementations, multitasking and parallelprocessing may be advantageous.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, from a clientdevice, a request for presentation of an interactive map user interfacethat depicts (i) a particular geographic region and (ii) data related toan online account for multiple different sub-regions of the particularregion; rendering, by one or more servers and using a mapping service, amap of the particular region, the rendering comprising generating acanvas of the particular region and loading a plurality of programmingelements and graphic elements that are used to generate the map;generating, by the one or more servers and based on the rendered map, animage file representing an image of the rendered map, wherein the imagefile is renderable using fewer computing resources than required togenerate the canvas; detecting one or more sub-regions within the imagebased at least on visual borders depicted by the image; assigning adifferent visual characteristic to each different sub-region within theimage; generating an electronic index that maps each location within theimage to a corresponding sub-region that includes the location; andconfiguring, by the one or more servers, a user interface of the clientdevice to present (i) the image with each of the different sub-regionsbeing presented according to the different visual characteristiccorresponding to the different sub-region and (ii) account data relatedto at least one given sub-region when the client device detects a userinteraction with the given sub-region of the image.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the visual characteristic for each sub-region comprisesa particular color assigned to the sub-region and that is presentedwithin the sub-region in the image.
 3. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising reducing a data size of the image file using compressiontechniques that include: assigning, to each sub-region of the image, aparticular red, green, blue (RGB) color in which the sub-region of theimage is presented; and storing, in the image file and for eachparticular sub-region, the RGB color for the sub-region and dataspecifying locations of the particular sub-region within the image. 4.The method of claim 1, further comprising: receiving, at the one or moreservers and from the client device, data specifying a selection of aparticular location within the image; generating an updated image thatdepicts a map of the particular sub-region that corresponds to theselected location in response to the selection, the generating includingrendering a map of the particular sub-region using the mapping serviceand generating an image of the rendered map; and providing, to theclient device, an image file representing the updated image.
 5. Themethod of claim 4, further comprising: receiving, from the clientdevice, data specifying a zoom level for the image at the time of theselection; determining, based on the zoom level, a level of granularityfor the selection; and determining, based on the level of granularityfor the selection, the particular sub-region that corresponds to theselected location.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the image filecomprises a Portable Network Graphics (PNG) file format.
 7. The methodof claim 1, further comprising providing, by the one or more servers andto the client device, one or more additional image files that eachrepresents a map of at least one of the sub-regions in response to therequest and prior to receiving a request for the one or more additionalimage files.
 8. A system comprising: a first front-end server thatreceives, from client devices, requests for presentation of interactivemap user interfaces that depict (i) a particular geographic region and(ii) data related to an online account for multiple differentsub-regions of the particular region; a map rendering server in datacommunication with the front-end server and that uses a mapping serviceto render a map of the particular region by generating a canvas of theparticular region and loading a plurality of programming elements andgraphic elements that are used to generate the map; a map image filegenerator that generates, based on the rendered map, an image filerepresenting an image of the rendered map, wherein the image file isrenderable using fewer computing resources than required to generate thecanvas; detects one or more sub-regions within the image based at leaston visual borders depicted by the image; and assigns a different visualcharacteristic to each different sub-region within the image; andgenerating an electronic index that maps each location within the imageto a corresponding sub-region that includes the location; and a secondfront-end server that configures a user interface of the client deviceto present (i) the image with each of the different regions beingpresented according to the different visual characteristic correspondingto the different region and (ii) account data related to at least onegiven sub-region when the client device detects a user interaction withthe given sub-region of the image.
 9. The system of claim 8, furthercomprising a file compressor that compresses a data size of an imagefile that stores the image by using compression techniques that include:assigning, to each sub-region of the image, a particular red, green,blue (RGB) color in which the sub-region of the image is presented; andstoring, in the image file and for each particular sub-region, the RGBcolor for the sub-region and data specifying locations of the particularsub-region within the image.
 10. The system of claim 8, wherein thevisual characteristic for each sub-region comprises a particular colorassigned to the sub-region and that is presented within the sub-regionin the image.
 11. The system of claim 8, wherein: the first front-endserver receives, from the client device, data specifying a selection ofa particular location within the image; the map image file generatorgenerates an updated image that depicts a map of the particularsub-region that corresponds to the selected location in response to theselection, the generating including rendering a map of the particularsub-region using the mapping service and generating an image of therendered map; and the second front-end server provides, to the clientdevice, an image file representing the updated image.
 12. The system ofclaim 11, wherein: the first front-end server receives, from the clientdevice, data specifying a zoom level for the image at the time of theselection; the map rendering server determines, based on the zoom level,a level of granularity for the selection; and the map rendering serverdetermines, based on the level of granularity for the selection, theparticular sub-region that corresponds to the selected location.
 13. Thesystem of claim 8, wherein the image file comprises a Portable NetworkGraphics (PNG) file format.
 14. The system of claim 8, wherein thesecond front-end server provides, to the client device, one or moreadditional image files that each represents a map of at least one of thesub-regions in response to the request and prior to receiving a requestfor the one or more additional image files.
 15. A non-transitorycomputer storage medium encoded with a computer program, the programcomprising instructions that when executed by one or more dataprocessing apparatus cause the data processing apparatus to performoperations comprising: receiving, from a client device, a request forpresentation of an interactive map user interface that depicts (i) aparticular geographic region and (ii) data related to an online accountfor multiple different sub-regions of the particular region; rendering,using a mapping service, a map of the particular region, the renderingcomprising generating a canvas of the particular region and loading aplurality of programming elements and graphic elements that are used togenerate the map; generating, based on the rendered map, an image filerepresenting an image of the rendered map, wherein the image file isrenderable using fewer computing resources than required to generate thecanvas; detecting one or more sub-regions within the image based atleast on visual borders depicted by the image; assigning a differentvisual characteristic to each different sub-region within the image;generating an electronic index that maps each location within the imageto a corresponding sub-region that includes the location; andconfiguring a user interface of the client device to present (i) theimage with each of the different sub-regions being presented accordingto the different visual characteristic corresponding to the differentsub-region and (ii) account data related to at least one givensub-region when the client device detects a user interaction with thegiven sub-region of the image.
 16. The non-transitory computer storagemedium of claim 15, wherein the visual characteristic for eachsub-region comprises a particular color assigned to the sub-region andthat is presented within the sub-region in the image.
 17. Thenon-transitory computer storage medium of claim 15, wherein theoperations further comprise reducing a data size of the image file usingcompression techniques that include: assigning, to each sub-region ofthe image, a particular red, green, blue (RGB) color in which thesub-region of the image is presented; and storing, in the image file andfor each particular sub-region, the RGB color for the sub-region anddata specifying locations of the particular sub-region within the image.18. The non-transitory computer storage medium of claim 15, wherein theoperations further comprise: receiving, from the client device, dataspecifying a selection of a particular location within the image;generating an updated image that depicts a map of the particularsub-region that corresponds to the selected location in response to theselection, the generating including rendering a map of the particularsub-region using the mapping service and generating an image of therendered map; and providing, to the client device, an image filerepresenting the updated image.
 19. The non-transitory computer storagemedium of claim 18, wherein the operations further comprise: receiving,from the client device, data specifying a zoom level for the image atthe time of the selection; determining, based on the zoom level, a levelof granularity for the selection; and determining, based on the level ofgranularity for the selection, the particular sub-region thatcorresponds to the selected location.
 20. The non-transitory computerstorage medium of claim 15, wherein the image file comprises a PortableNetwork Graphics (PNG) file format.